What does the word “step” mean to you on the soccer field?
One inconvenient part of soccer is that the same word can mean different things to different people. “Step”, for example, can get used for:
Go press! (by yourself)
Let’s go press! (as a team)
Get pressure on the ball! (within the regular run of play)
Let’s step forward (to make the field compact)
It’s just a single word, but it can go in so many directions. With that, it can also cause problems. If two (or more) people on the field think different things when they hear the word, it can cause confusion.
If our center back tells our striker to go Step, intending for option #3, but our midfielder thinks the center back means option #2 and steps forward as he would in the full-team press, it could leave a gap in front of the center back.
There isn’t a right or wrong way to use the word “Step”, it’s a personal preference for coaches. The trouble is that players often play on multiple teams at once, or have certainly played on multiple teams in their lives, and have thus heard different uses of the same terms. The wires will inevitably get crossed.
(There’s also, I think, a larger issue in soccer of vague terms. It’s not just that different coaches have different meanings for the same terms, it’s that the words we use most often are incredibly broad. It’s the word’s fault more than the speaker’s. What exactly is an “8”?)
What’s the harm, then, in creating your own terminology as a team?
I’m pretty sure the answer for many would be: using funky words on the field sounds stupid and it leaves you open to ridicule. Fortunately, that’s mostly because soccer people are horrified by anything new and unique, more than the actual merits of the idea.
If it makes you feel any better… Jesse Marsch, one of the brightest upcoming coaches in the world, created a whole bunch of weird words for his Red Bulls team. Ever heard of a “ball thief”?
Instead of using the words we hear every day on the soccer field - Step, Press, Switch, Cross, Shape, Second Ball, Organize, etc - try creating entirely new words. The more popular the generic term, the more urgent it is to get rid of it. Anything players have heard on the field - anything they might have heard from other coaches - throw it out.
The advantages to creating your own team-specific terminology:
It stops confusion on the field.
First, it ensures everyone on the team stays on the same page tactically. Second, the player doesn’t have to cipher through the different meanings in her own mind. “Which ‘press’ am I supposed to do right now?” The difference might be incredibly tiny, but in the midst of a full-speed soccer game, every margin and millisecond matters.
With that said, there is certainly a transition phase as the players learn the new words, so there is some increased confusion early in the process.
It creates urgency.
Players have heard the same words over and over, and as all know from our mom’s telling us to call those people right away, there’s a tendency to ignore overused concepts. Players have heard the word “Press” 10,000 times in their life. A new, unique word will trigger an urgency in their brains.
It creates specificity.
What does a coach mean when he says “second ball”? He obviously means, “win the second ball.” But, how does a player win a second ball? It doesn’t happen just by thinking about it or wanting it to happen. There are tactical and physical reasons that teams win second balls. Why use the line “second ball” rather than the specific tactical idea or physical requirement? The quicker you can trigger a specific idea in a player’s brain, the better.
It forces players to learn the how & why behind the term.
When you go over the new terms, you have to really think about what they mean. For example, when you create a new word for “Shape,” you have to go over exactly what you want to accomplish with your team defensive ideas and why you want to accomplish it. The deeper understanding creates more buy-in from the players and allows for quicker flexibility of ideas in the future.
It makes technical exercises and passing patterns easier to consume and more realistic.
Sometimes a basic goal of technical drills - getting the players a lot of touches and reps - can go against a key component of coaching - every drill should have a tactical purpose. The Dutch Square, for example, is a drill that gets players a ton of touches but doesn’t really have a tactical component, as you just go around and around in a square. If you can codify every touch, however, then you can bring tactical ideas into any drill. Instead of simply going around in a square, you can work on “Swing” or “Break the Line”.
Needless to say, I would argue that creating team-specific terminology is one of the easiest, most obvious ways to create a marginal advantage.
Here is the list of terms we like to use:
Line - Get into our pressing defensive set. When the opponent’s GK or center backs have the ball (usually during a dead moment), we get back into our pre-pressing shape at the Line of Confrontation.
Zoom- After we have been in our pre-pressing shape, we go to press on the word “Zoom.”
Hunt - After we’ve moved forward to press, we defend man-to-man and everyone understands they must win the ball as quickly as possible.
Block - Get into our non-pressing defensive set.
Squeeze - The team, specifically the defenders, moving forward to keep the team compact.
Break the Line - A pass that bypasses an opponent’s defensive line.
Bounce - A pass that goes back the way our player is facing.
Give and Go - Okay, this one is the same as the generic term.
Half-Turn - This one, too.
Side-On - Samesies. (I’m not sure why I haven’t adjusted these three.)
Shoulders - Looking over the shoulder to see what’s behind you (both on offense and defense)
Second Layer - A pass played beyond the opposition’s first defensive layer, into the space in front of the opposition’s defenders.
Depth - A pass played behind the opposition's defenders.
Net - Our shape while the ball is traveling in the air to get into position to win a second ball.
Angle - Reminding the player, usually defenders, to get into position early to provide a passing option for a teammate.
Swing - Passing the ball across the defenders to get to the other side of the field.
Mental Transition - When the ball goes out of player or turnsover, we immediately get into the next action.
Thread - A pass between the opposing center back and outside back.
Danger Zones - The optimal assist areas on the field.
(I’ve heard one MLS coach use the word “rondo” during the run of play to signal to his players to keep possession in a certain area to draw the opponent over so they can create space to exploit elsewhere.)
Maybe that’s too few for what I’m hoping to accomplish, maybe it’s too many. I’m still developing the idea. I’d love to hear that other people do or think.
That’s all today. Carry on (inside, please).